Bishop Responds to HHS Reinstating Grants that Help Communities Meet the Challenges of Addiction and Mental Health Care

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reinstated billions of dollars in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants that he had cancelled less than 24 hours earlier:

"While I am glad that Secretary Kennedy heard the outrage of elected officials, community leaders, accountability courts, law enforcement, patient advocates, and families across our country who are coping with the challenges of addiction and mental health, these SAMHSA grants should never have been jeopardized in the first place.

"Unfortunately, this is not the first time this Administration acted haphazardly in its continued disregard of Congress to break the partnerships we have built with communities across the country that empower hard-working Americans to improve their quality of life.

"At a time when Georgians are asking Congress and the President to focus on affordability because they face skyrocketing healthcare costs, high food prices, and expensive housing, we need stability and not chaos like we saw yesterday."

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